Rams Fans Rally At The Forum To Welcome Team Back To LA
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Rams fans turned out at a rally Friday to welcome the team back to Los Angeles after more than two decades.
Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr., Los Angeles Rams owner Stan Kroenke and Rams head coach Jeff Fisher were on hand at The Forum - just north of their new stadium site - to celebrate the team's move from St. Louis, where it spent the last 20 years after leaving the Southland.
Greeted by fans wearing the Rams' signature horns and gold-and-blue jerseys, Kroenke vowed not only to put a winning product out on the field, but to bring the world's biggest sporting events to L.A.
"We're going to bring Super Bowls here," Kroenke told media and fans gathered at the Forum, across the street from the former Hollywood Park site
that will eventually house a $1.86 billion stadium that will house the Rams.
Kroenke said the opportunity to be part of a 300-acre development featuring sports coupled with promising retail, parks and residential projects presented a unique opportunity to create a signature location for the region.
Saying Inglewood "will be the City of Champions once again", Butts took a shot at sports network ESPN and Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, noting that despite the team's new name of "Los Angeles Rams," the team will be playing in Inglewood.
"I wanted ESPN to know we have our own city and we have our own mayor," Butts said, drawing cheers from the fans.
The team's relocation could bring as many as 40,000 jobs to Inglewood during the stadium construction phase, according to Chris Meany, Senior Vice President and Development Manager of the Hollywood Park Land Co.
Until the Inglewood stadium is ready for the 2019 season, the Rams will play at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
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